days buried underneath debris. rescue crews say they also found a 70-year-old woman alive in her house, which had been washed away by last week's tsunami. while there are rare glimpses of hope, the death toll continues to rise in japan. right now it stands at nearly 3800. officials say it could top 10,000. people have been evacuated and those within 20 miles are being told to remain indoors. ktvu's jana is in tokyo where it is now 10:00 a.m. on wednesday morning. she joins us live now via skype with the latest on what's happening. >> reporter: julie and frank, woke up this morning, it's about 10:00 a.m. and the big headline is the radiation. a lot of concerns just four hours ago that there was a fire at the fukushima plant. a worker apparently was going

by and saw smoke coming out of that. it looks like it's contained, but a lot of concern. we do have video of an area that has had quite a bit of problems and one thing we're hearing is that there's going to be a cold blast that will come over the country today, possibly bringing snow to that area. you can just imagine how much more difficult that will make relief efforts and not only for the earthquake evacwees, but now you mention coming from the fukushima radiation danger zone. one thing i have to point out, there are workers at that plant who agreed to stay behind and you know, you can't help but call them heros with high levels of radiation. they are trying to do what they can to save it and keep it from being widespread. here in tokyo, there is concern about radiation and i talked to people who say they are trying to evacuate families. you know, out of the area just in case the winds shift and

bring more radiation down here. but it's definitely, you know, a changing situation and that situation in fukushima really, really critical. >> jana, we will continue to follow her live reports from japan and you can read her blog on ktvu.com. just look under the japan quake tab. in san jose's japan town, many people are anxiously awaiting the fate of their loved ones and associates in japan. >> it was about six miles from the coast of sendai. so it's probably completely destroyed. we can't know because we don't have anything. there's no communication. >> community members tell ktvu news they are becoming more concerned about radiation from the damaged nuclear reactors. many of the 200 businesses are starting to collect funds for the earthquake victims and on thursday night, members of japantown are planning a vigil in an earth to raise money for

a buddhist temple that might have been destroyed. >> the santa cruz said it suffered $25 million from the tsunami. the news comes as fema inspectors are visiting the harbor, documenting the evidence. their report will be critical if governor brown asks the president to issue a disaster exploration to free up federal funds. >> we did observe a lot of damage. i can't quantify how much had occurred, but the tsunami wave did a lot of damage. fema inspectors are up north assessing the damage. fema will present its findings to governor brown tomorrow. officials are asking the governor to declare a state of emergency following tsunami damage to the harbor at fort bragg. the harbor master says it will cost at least $4 million to repair the damage to the docks. governor brown has already declared emergencies in del

noter, san mateo, hum bolt, and santa cruise counties. some in the bay area are concerned about radiation from japan's damaged nuclear reactors and if it threatens us here on the west coast. experts say there are no signs that radiation levels are on the rise here in the bay area. even a meltdown caused no immediate symptoms. scientists say people living near the reactors in japan have not experienced serious radiation exposure. and the threat of that meltdown of a japanese nuclear plant is starting to raise concerns as we mentioned here in the bay area, but experts say there's a very low probability of harmful radiation levels in the u.s. still ktvu sal castaneda is live where people are taking precautions. what are they doing? >> reporter: as the news worsens about the japanese nuclear disaster, more people are showing up at medical centers like this and at

pharmacies asking what they can do if anything to protect themselves from radioactive fallout should it reach the west coast. potassium iodine supplements have suddenly become scarce and manufactures say they are having trouble keeping up with demand. the supplement is said to protect the thyroid gland from iodine, which may have been released from one of japan's damaged nuclear reactors. >> everyone thinks i'm a nut bag. >> u.s. surgeon general said we do not need to worry about nuclear fallout. surgeon general said people didn't need to do anything different yet. if anything changes, the public will be notified immediately. >> we work through cbc and our office of preparedness, so we would be on top of it and get the word out to your local and state health departments. you'd have it right away. >> maybe told us they are not concerned, but understand why

others are. >> they think that well, you know, if this is going to help me or this is going to protect me from, you know, being affected by certain things, then i should rush out and do this. >> we made calls to several stores looking for the ki pills and had no luck. the pills normally go for about $10 a pill, but on the internet, they are selling for as much as $35 a pill and they are still in short supply. live in san mateo, sal castaneda, channel 2 news. california's two nuclear power plants are not as susceptible to the same kind of problems we are seeing in japan according to the state's top emergency official. the acting head of the california emergency management agency said today that california likely would never have to face a 9.0 quake like the one that devastated japan. the canyon and nuclear power plants are also designed to withstand tsunamis and quakes of at least 7.0. according to their operators.

the nuclear crisis in japan is taking a toll on markets here in the u.s. the dow dropped almost 300 points during trading, but rebounded to close down 137 for the day at 11,185. the nasdaq fell 34 points to 2,667. the electricity situation has investors especially concerned. >> right now they are experiencing rolling blackouts. how soon can they get their manufactures back up and how much is that going to impact earnings? >> japan's economy is important for the u.s. because it accounts for about 10% of american exports. japan stock market is down 19% since friday. more rain is slowing the commute tonight and our chief meteorologist, bill martin, has been tracking the rain all afternoon. where do things stand now? >> we go to live storm tracker 2. we had up to an inch of rain. rain is coming down hard as we

pointed out earlier. napa as well. richmond bridge, you have some rain. you have more rain toward vallejo and concord. the heaviest rain swinging between richmond and concord. as we head south in the santa clara valley, we have more widely scattered showers, you have showers right now. we head out there right now. we have a live camera shot knowing this is in the heart of the afternoon commute. what you are seeing here, you can see how wet and cloudy it is. but if you are expecting some this afternoon, they are running slow, because the roads are running slow. i'll be back in a few minutes. i have the latest computer model. there is more coming as we roll into the next 3, 4, 5, 6 days. >> all right, thank you, bill. in the east bay, witnesses tell ktvu a 7-year-old boy was hit by a car less than two hours ago outside march issue elementary school in antioch. heavy rain forced a rescue helicopter to go to uc davis medical center rather than hospitals closer to the

accident. antioch police haven't released any details yet about this accident and the child's condition also has not been released. a hail of gunfire on the busy 16th street corridor in san francisco sparking new fear local residents and business leaders tonight. ktvu's david stevenson spoke with the owner of the bar where the shooting happened. the owner didn't want to go on camera for safety reasons, but he did show us what it looks like inside. david. >> frank, this latest mission district shooting is sparking more calls for more san francisco police foot patrols. bullet holes marked the doors of the bar after a late night shooting monday that wounded five men. >> it comes after what police say are six mission district gang related stabbings. 59 shots were fired last night from across the street at about 11:00 p.m. tearing through the doors of the bar and a neighboring store. the police gang task force is now investigating. >> i don't have any information that would say for

sure if these incidents are connected, but that's something we do look at. >> the son of the owner says it's a working class bar, not a gang magnet. he showed us a shell casing left behind by police and a sign someone taped to the door. he also let us view surveillance video that shows customers viewing. two wounded customers are seen running back inside. merchants want more police foot patrols. >> more police. >> san francisco mission district supervisor this afternoon told us quote, we were hopeful that things had calmed down. if people don't feel safe in the neighborhood, people are not going to come out and shop. >> last night, it was about 1 00 meters away. >> the mission district is safe. >> fortunately, people are -- what we work so hard to bring to the mission. >> four of the five wounded men have been released from the

hospital. police suspects include two latino men in their 20s in the shooting scene in a red pontiac transam. reporting live in san francisco, david stevenson, ktvu channel 2 news. pg&e says it isn't finished looking through its records for documents related to pipeline safety. the public utilities commission gave pg&e until 5:00 tonight to hand over the documents. they did show in a 154 page report. in it, they located records for 91% of its pressure tests. ktvu's rita williams is at the headquarters and will have a full report coming up tonight at the 10:00 news. there is movement tonight on the state budget battle. >> the lawmakers say they will vote on the governor's budget plan tomorrow, which includes massive cuts. why some say it is nothing but a drill. and it looks like a video

game. the unique view of a roadway you could soon be driving on.

right now, lawmakers are nearing a vote on the state budget. late today, senate president proteem darryl called for a vote on governor brown's government proposal. ken pritchett is in sacramento with the latest on whether this could happen. whether the plan has any chance of passing. ken. >> gasia, in the rain and underneath umbrellas here, you can see union workers on the capital protesting among other things pension cuts for state workers. pension cuts have been a major sticking point in their budget negotiations and despite that impact, lawmakers say they will vote on massive cuts tomorrow. >> governor jerry brown today said talks with republicans

continue, but there's no deal to call a special election. >> the people in california have a right to decide on whether they want massive cuts or they want serious cuts and some tax extensions. >> an exclusive ktvu field poll shows voter support for the idea, 61% support a june special election. 36% want lawmakers to handle the budget crisis. and if a special election is held, 58% support the governor's plan to extend taxes to avoid additional cuts. 39% oppose. >> so far, the republicans are denying the people the right to vote. >> despite the impasse, the quiet of the chambers today will be replaced tomorrow. republicans have called the vote a drill. bay area senator says the vote is real and drastic. >> it doesn't feel like a drill to me when i'm putting my name on a vote to make billions of dollars to cuts to people who are barely getting by as

is. that's not a drill to me. >> the governor needs five republicans or at least some of those five republicans he is negotiating with. he needs their support to put this matter on the june ballot. we tried to talk to some of them today. one ducked out of a meeting to avoid questions from the press. the legislature will take up the budget at 1:00 tomorrow afternoon. in sacramento, ken pritchett, ktvu channel 2 news. many school districts began issuing layoff notices in anticipation of deep budget cuts this fall. >> a lot of people on our staff who are very much worried about how they are going to feed their kids. >> 1/5 of all teachers got similar pink slips. school administrators said all the layoffs could go into effect this fall. they want state lawmakers to put on the june ballot a measure that ken was talking about to extend current tax rates that are set to expire.

in union city, administrators in the new haven district warn they may have to close this newly built library and lay off 60 teachers district wide. the california teacher's association says state education funding has been cut by $18 billion in the last three years with another $4.6 billion in cuts likely if the budget is balanced completely through spending cuts. >> former gubernatorial candidate, meg whitman is not planning to campaign to unseat dianne feinstein. she spent $44 million of her own money in an unsuccessful bid. the forme ebay chief tells the wall street journal she wants to shape public policy and support mitt romney's presidential bid. >> sheriff says a levy break no longer poses a danger. the levee began leaking yesterday morning just north of clear lake in land that will be restored as wetland. eight homes in the area could

have been flooded. however, state prison inmates working with the department of public works successfully sured up that levee this morning. >> state has agreed to battle a nonnative plant in discovery bay after pressure from local leaders. a plant used in home aquariums has clogged the waters for over a decade. next month, the department of boating and waterways will apply a pesticide that state officials say will control, but won't kill the weed. the cost, $2,000 an acre per year. well we have a lot to talk about when it comes to the weather. over to bill martin for what we can expect tonight. bill. >> the latest radar showing rain in the north bay. there are showers everywhere else, but the real significant heavy rain north of the bay bridge right now. those showers should work their way south overnight or over in the next three hours. the heaviest rain has been up here towards albany and out toward richmond and san rafael. rain fall accumulations of up

to an inch. with everybody else in the 10th of an inch rain. san jose, you are just getting ready to get rain down there. it's been dry most of the day. highs were in the mid 60s. most of it has been in north bay. the afternoon commute is getting a slow down because of the rain. the showers are going to last for the next couple hours easily and into the overnight hours. overnight lows are 40s and 50s. rain until the late 3:00, 4:00 in the morning and things should start to taper off. morning commute, the roads will be wet. i imagine most of the dry, most of the sky will be dry. i don't think we'll see a lot of rain coming down. but showers in the forecast. as we head into thursday and friday, we are talking about lingering showers and then friday is our next more organized weather system, which will be similar to what we are seeing right now, except it's colder and we could see a little bit more wind. the computer model, here we are tonight at 8:00 and the showers kind of working their way into the san jose area. there we are at midnight or

11:00 it starts to clear out. we'll get to the morning commute here and scattered showers, mostly dry across the central part of the bay. that's your wednesday morning commute. there's your wednesday afternoon commute. get into thursday, thursday early morning, looks dry, and watch what happens. it starts to organize offshore thursday night and then here comes friday system. that's a significant looking weather system. looks like it has a strong front with it. we'll pick up winds as well. we'll see at least a snow advisory, perhaps a winter storm warning for the lake tahoe area as we head into friday. so all in coming up in the next few days, in the meantime, we have temperatures under mostly cloudy skies. it will be in the mid and low 60s and a few sprinkles. the main story will be friday. chance of showers again on friday. the afternoon commute is the story. they are getting hammered and it's raining hard and everyone wants to get home and eat dinner. >> all right, thanks, bill. >> a wet week, too.

>> all right. do some google apps dediscriminate against blind students? that's what the national federation of the blind is asking the justice department to find out. the advocacy group filed it. the federation says g mail and other apps used by the schools contain barriers. the new approach to the golden gate bridge won't open until 2014, but that doesn't mean you can't take a virtual drive. digital design from auto desk set up a car simulator today. demonstrating the future drive from the palace of fine arts up to the golden gate bridge. you can go to our website, ktvu.com to see a slide show of what that commute on doyle drive will look like as of the year 2014. coming up, the apple store become as lifeline. the one thing crowds in tokyo can find there that they can't find anywhere else right now.

the apple store in tokyo has become a lifeline for those trying to get word out. the five story building has become a magnet for folks trying to reach loved ones. with apple offering the only free wifi connection in tokyo.

apple staff and their families left homeless by the quake have also been allowed to sleep in that building. all right, mark joins us now. if you like basketball, you're going to want to stay tuned for the next three to four weeks. >> about the next month or so. flying all over the place. all over the country. of course the tournament gets underway in a big way thursday, but we got the bubble teams, kind of the want to bees. getting into the big dance. north carolina ashville versus arkansas little rock. ashville down as many as 11. they come on with a matt with 10 seconds left to tie it. they are pumped. they are going to overtime. and that is again puts in one off the bank. gets the jumper down, 22 for him and just the first tournament victory in that school's history. meantime, cal in berkeley today working out, they are getting ready for the nit event. st. mary's, by the way, will be taking on kent state later tonight. but cal going up against ole

miss. the first ever meeting between those two schools tomorrow at cal. the nit doesn't get a lot, but 14 conference champions in the nit this year and mike montgomery taking things very seriously. >> the notion that a game in the nit is going to be easier than a game in the ncaa is not accurate. you're playing winning teams with winning records and you got your hands full. almost regardless of who you play. there's good basketball teams. >> meantime, the a's, huge sighing of relief from the entire organization. their relief closer, and drew bailey. this is the footage from yesterday. turns out today upon further review, he has what is being called a strained forearm. no swelling reported. no scheduled resumption of his being able to throw, but is expected that he will not be out for a long time. so that's great news.

and drew bailey, an all-star closer and they don't want him going down at this stage in the season any time for that matter. giants playing in the spring training game tonight. that's the sporting lineup for right now. >> mark, thank you. as promised,pg and, delivered documents details pipeline safety. coming up at 7:00 on tv 36, the report covers records on pressure tests dating back some 50 years, but it has some glaring holes. see why the utility says it's not satisfied in 30 minutes on tv 36. that's our report for tonight. thanks for joining us. good night. >> good night. atst fwa.ean ougog t bk. wi cseuidesi yr arho, u stnaa cte,hise a de. ougog t bk.

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